After enjoying quite some stunning performances at the TotalEnergies BWF Sudirman Cup Finals 2023 last week, it is now time for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to take centre stage. 

The PERODUA Malaysia Masters 2023 presented by DAIHATSU is kicking off tomorrow and will be taking place until Sunday 28 May. The draw assures unparalleled badminton action that serves as the starting point for the upcoming other three big tournaments taking place in Asia — the Thailand Open, Singapore Open, and Indonesia Open.

We’re getting off to a strong start in Malaysia. It will not be an easy one for our European stars. There will be several European mixed doubles pairs facing each other on their opening matches. Dutch duo Robin Tabeling/ Selena Piek, sixth seeded, will be playing against Danes Mathias Christiansen/ Alexandra Bøje.

Mathias Thyrri/ Amalie Magelund, Denmark, will be facing Marcus Ellis/ Lauren Smith, England, in what will certainly be another exciting match. Fellow English pair Gregory Mairs/ Jenny Moore will have to beat third seeds Seo Seung Jae/ Chae Yu Jung if they want to make it past their first round.

There are more European players who will have to get past challenging yet exciting battles in the Super 500 tournament. 21-year-old Magnus Johannesen has been promoted to main draw and will therefore be playing his first competition of this level. Nhat Nguyen has also been promoted and will be meeting Ng Ka Long Angus, Hong Kong, on his first day on court in Malaysia. Reigning champion Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo will be playing Lin Chun Yi, Chinese Taipei. 

Having had some strong moments in the recent tournaments, Dane Mia Blichfeldt will first be facing USA’s Iris Wang. Yvonne Li, Germany, will be playing home favourite Goh Jin Wei. Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon, who took the title both in 2018 and 2019, will also be competing in this edition.

The men’s doubles main draw features some of the tour’s usual strong names such as Indonesia’s Fajar Alfian/ Muhammad Rian Ardianto, top seeds and reigning champions, with Korea’s Kang Min Hyuk/ Seo Seung Jae Korea as their first opponents. There will be quite some European names in the mix too, including seventh seeded Danes Kim Astrup/ Anders Skaarup Rasmussen.

The women’s doubles draw assures a competition that will be just as fierce. Japan’s Nami Matsuyama/ Chihary Shida are the top seeds. Dutch pair Debora Jille/ Cheryl Seinen’s first opponents will be third seeds Kim So Yeong/ Kong Hee Yong, Korea. Maiken Fruergaard/ Sara Thygesen  and the Stoeva sisters — who haven’t been seen together on the international stage since the Swiss Open — will be facing home pairs, Vivian Hoo/ Lim Chiew Sien and Tan Pearly/ Thinaah Muralitharan respectively. 

Matches start 10.00am Kuala Lumpur time (04.00am CEST). To see the full draw and results, click here.